In this edition of Ask a Travel Expert, dive travel writer Terry Ward tackles photo vacations, drysuit adventures and manta encounters.

Q: I’m into macro photography but my dive buddy shoots wide-angle. What destinations make for a dream trip where we can both get our photo fix?

A: So many spots deliver photogenic critters and wide-angle views on the same site or within close range, especially if you’re diving by liveaboard. But for destinations open to U.S. travelers right now, look to Caribbean locations like Bonaire, Curaçao, the Bay Islands of Honduras and Cozumel to tick both boxes, says Cammie Akins, vice president of Caradonna Dive Adventures. For divers looking to travel farther afield, she says, the Red Sea and the Maldives are both open and offer a combination of small subjects for macro lovers and big views for wide-angle shots.

Q: Where’s a good place to get drysuit certified and have a travel adventure right now?


A: At time of publication, Iceland is open to vaccinated and previously infected travelers. Unvaccinated travelers require a negative COVID test up to 72 hours before arrival. I had the chance to brush up on my drysuit diving skills in Iceland last June at Silfra, where the Eurasian and North American tectonic plates meet. Diving dry is the only way to enter a glacial fissure with water temperatures that hover just above freezing year-round.

Said to be the clearest water on earth, Silfra’s standard visibility is over 300 feet. It’s like nothing I’d ever experienced. PADI Five Star Resorts like Arctic Adventures and Dive.is both offer two- day Dry Suit Diver courses that include a dive in the fabulous fissure. “We have the best clear-water lakes, freshwater volcano cracks with easy depths and natural challenges in the topography of the sites to challenge your buoyancy control,” says Nick Reeves, of Arctic Adventures. Epic cold-water dive destinations where you can get your drysuit certification closer to home include Northern California, Alaska and Maine.

Q: Diving with mantas is my dream. Where can I make that come true?


A: Seeing a manta underwater is always a thrill. I’ve been lucky enough to be among them in Palau’s German Channel as well as Fakarava Atoll in the Tuamotu Islands of French Polynesia. I also recently saw mobula rays (part of the family Mobulidae) at a dive site called Baixa do Ambrósio while diving aboard the Water and Wind liveaboard.

In addition, Jenna LaBranche, of PADI Travel, says not to overlook Hawaii and the Indian Ocean if you’re mad for mantas. “Kona, Hawaii, offers a fantastic night dive with manta rays that shouldn’t be missed,” she says. “You can also find them year-round in the Maldives.”